Black Butterflyfish
Chaetodon reticulatus
- Usual depth5–23 m
- Water temperature24–29 °C
- Best monthsFebruary, March, and April
- How commonCommon
Photo credit: (c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
The mailed butterflyfish, also known as the reticulated butterflyfish or black butterflyfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae, This species is found on reefs in the central and western Pacific Ocean. It can be found in the aquarium trade.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Mailed butterflyfish”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
Loading the map
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 40 records
- February: 915 records
- March: 1,150 records
- April: 1,084 records
- May: 559 records
- June: 395 records
- July: 506 records
- August: 240 records
- September: 215 records
- October: 159 records
- November: 97 records
- December: 33 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 5–23 m · Deepest record: 46 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 24–29 °C
Photos
(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Lawrence Troup, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist 
(c) Matt Muir, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Thibaud Aronson, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist 
(c) Rachel Crane, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Thibaud Aronson, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist 
(c) Michael Berardozzi, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Black Butterflyfish, Mailed Butterflyfish, Mailed Coralfish, Reticulate Butterflyfish, Reticulated Butterfly, Reticulated Butterflyfish
Names in 6 more languages
- German
- Perlen-Falterfisch
- Spanish
- Pez mariposa reticulado
- Filipino
- Paru-parang dagat
- French
- Chaetodon réticulé
- Japanese
- Hakuten-katagi, Hakutenkatagi, ハクテンカタギ
- Simplified Chinese
- 網紋蝴蝶魚, 網紋蝶
Other scientific names: Chaetodon recticulatus, Chaetodon superbus, Citharoedus reticulatus
Similar species
Threadfin butterflyfishChaetodon auriga
Citron ButterflyChaetodon citrinellus
Blackblotch ButterflyfishChaetodon ephippium
Sunburst butterflyfishChaetodon kleinii
Raccoon butterflyfishChaetodon lunula
Oval ButterflyfishChaetodon lunulatus
Sources and credits
Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).
- Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
- Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
- Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
- 5,694 open-data records from 1902 to 2022.
- Species data updated October 26, 2026.
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